Beijing exhibition brings 'qiaopi' history to life with 'Dear You' film props

Editor's note: An exhibition featuring original props from the Chinese film "Dear You" and historical artifacts linked to "qiaopi" opened July 10 at the Overseas Chinese History Museum of China in Beijing. Qiaopi refers to letters and remittances sent home by earlier generations of overseas Chinese.

Through recreated sets and interactive activities, the exhibition connects the film's story of family bonds and homesickness with the broader history of Chinese migration overseas. 

The museum and Damai Entertainment jointly organized the exhibition, which brings together 70 original film props and prop sets along with nearly 100 artifacts from the museum's collection, including qiaopi, identity documents used by overseas Chinese and textbooks from Chinese-language schools abroad.

More than a dozen reconstructed settings combine cinematic storytelling, Chaoshan folk culture and the history of overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Visitors can enter period interiors and street scenes, examine materials related to Chinese-language education overseas and view original qiaopi that carried both family letters and money across long distances.

Interactive areas invite visitors to pose in a reconstructed photo studio, browse original Chinese-language textbooks and copy passages from qiaopi by hand.

The exhibition runs through Sept. 13. 

A recreated living room scene from the film "Dear You," modeled on a traditional Chaoshan family home, is on display at the Overseas Chinese History Museum of China in Beijing, July 23, 2026. [Photo by Wang Yiming/China.org.cn]